Jute set to return from sunset zone Commodity

The golden fibre, or jute, is set to stage a comeback. With the increasing aversion to plastic bags and concerted governmental and private initiatives to lead to a ‘plastic free world’, increased usage of jute products is expected. While many countries are looking to cut down the use of single-use plastic, India already has a sustainable substitute that cannot be ignored any more — jute.

India is the world’s largest producer of jute, which is a natural and biodegradable fibre. As high as 60 per cent of the world’s jute grows in India. However, jute production in the country has experienced an irregular trend since 2001-02. Key reasons for this are lack of capital, poor standard seeds and the shortage of water. Rapid urbanisation also has had an adverse impact on jute cultivation.

Over and above the efforts to tackle the plastic menace, analysts think that good agricultural production in India (almost 20 per cent higher than last year) is expected to further boost demand for jute products in the medium term. And with increased focus on increased farmer income and assurance of a remunerative Minimum Support Price (MSP), demand for packaging products would also sustain.

Several leading firms have joined the government’s efforts to tackle the plastic menace, trying to make their workplaces plastic free with sustainable alternatives. Efforts are being made to replace plastic bags with reusable bags such as jute.

The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan recently announced that the ministry would phase out plastic in packaging, and “move towards 100 per cent use of jute in packaging foodstuff.” Mind you that India generates about 95 lakh tonne of single-use plastic waste, of which 6 lakh tonne goes into the sea, contaminating the water.

Meanwhile a group of passionate women from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have come together to combat the ‘demon’ called plastic. The allwomen jute and allied fibre cooperative society called ‘Prabhavana’ is set to take its first step towards vanquishing the demon from the abode of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala. The cooperative society, arguably the first one in the country to have presence in multiple states for jute and allied fibre, besides being the only all-women society, is soon going to sign a pact with the Jute Corporation of India for supplying jute bags to replace the plastic used for serving ‘prasadams’ to devotees by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.

Explaining why jute, for some time considered to be a sunset industry, is well set to stage a comeback, analysts said that jute is biodegradable and does not need a lot of farming space. The jute cultivation using crop rotation techniques improves the fertility of the soil for the next crop. A jute plant absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen more than a tree.